


I don‘t feel very wellie

by ItsKarla



Series: AaronDingleWeek2020 [6]
Category: Emmerdale, robron
Genre: Alternate Universe, First Meeting, Fluff, Getting Together, I took canon and threw it into a blender, M/M, Robert gets Dingled, Robert is a hero, fluff and love, the Dingles love Robert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:41:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27058915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ItsKarla/pseuds/ItsKarla
Summary: He saw Cain a few times in the pub, but they just nodded at each other - no, well, scratch that, Robert nodded and Cain glared back.“He’s giving me the eyebrows again,” he whispered to Aaron, “he hates me.”Aaron huffed a laugh and slapped with the back of his hand Robert’s stomach. “Don’t be ridiculous, he loves you,” he snorted and turned to Diane to order two pints.Robert looked over to Cain again and he saw him pointing from his eyes towards Robert.  The ‘I watch you’ gesture. Great. Just fucking great. And not at all creepy, Don Corleone.The point was, the Dingles were weird. And there were so many of them.——My attempt on prompt 6:  “Why are you hiding behind me?  What did you do?”
Relationships: Aaron Dingle/Robert Sugden
Series: AaronDingleWeek2020 [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1967143
Comments: 16
Kudos: 104





	I don‘t feel very wellie

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, it‘s Aaron Week, but I kinda couldn‘t help myself to write a Robert fic?! 😂  
> Robert is Aaron‘s most important person, so I hope it is okay.
> 
> Soooo, what if the Dingles loved Robert and treated him like one of them? Poor Rob. 🤣  
> Someone had to write that 🤣🤣

So, Robert is the luckiest bloke in Northern England. No scratch that, in the whole UK.

But then there‘s also the desperate guy who paid £425 for a billboard advertisement saying that he was looking for a date... and now after he went through over 2,000 replies, he finally  _ got _ a girlfriend. It was on the news even. 

Okay, but Robert is most definitely the luckiest bloke in Emmerdale.

“Shut up, that‘s me!“ Aaron says and kisses him with a determined passion.

Because Aaron Dingle is his boyfriend, hence the lucky bloke statement.

Robert just grins into the other man‘s mouth while the scruff tickles on his skin. 

—

He met the mechanic when his car broke down on the way back to his hometown, a tiny village that Robert hated with a passion. But since his brother was about to make the biggest mistake of his life - a.k.a. marrying the village bike - Robert was willing to bite the bullet… just to witness the proverbial car crash with his own eyes.

He stroked his baby and tried to sweet talk the engine into running again, but his beloved Porsche just gave him the silent treatment.

Robert googled the next garage. 

Dingle & Dingle. 

Ugh, thug & moron. 

He remembered that name all too well, cursed Jesus, God and whoever was ready to listen up there and dialed the number.

“Dingle.“

Robert rolled his eyes at the rough voice on the other end. Like, really?

“My car broke down,“ he said.

“Sorry, mate,“ the other man replied dryly, and if Robert wasn‘t truly mistaken, he heard him bite into something and then there were smacks and chewing noises.

“Isn‘t this the garage?“ Robert frowns, mood souring quickly. 

He put the phone away from his ear. He definitely had dialed the number directly from the google page. 

“Yep.“ The P plopped.

Robert groaned. “I need someone  _ here _ . To fix my car,“ he said exasperated. 

The man made a humming sound, swallowed, like he had all time in the world.

“Where are you?“

Robert checked his sat nav for and gave his position. 

“I‘ll send someone.“

Before Robert could reply a nonchalant ‘thanks, arsehole’ he heard the man shouting: “Aaron! Gotta job for ya!“

There were muffled sounds in the background. “Ugh, Cain, why me ag-”

The line went dead without a goodbye or anything. Robert shook his head in disbelief. ‘Customer is king’ is an alien concept to this garage.

But then again, it‘s the Dingles. What else would you expect? 

Right. Nothing.

  
  
  


He sat in his car, trying to start it for about the 20th time. 

“Come on, baby, be a good girl,“ he murmured and babbled nonstop nonsense to his Porsche. 

“She really isn‘t listening, is she?“

Robert jumped on his seat at the foreign voice outside his car. The first thing he saw was an overall, sloppily tied around the waist. A slim waist. Then a flat stomach, covered in a black shirt, a toned chest, a neatly trimmed beard and two blue eyes. 

The bloke was looking down on him with a slight smirk and a raised eyebrow. 

“Pop the hood,“ he nodded towards the rear end of the car and Robert just swallowed and complied. 

He was dazed. Truly dazed. The lad was gorgeous! Robert couldn‘t believe that a bloke like that worked in Emmerdale! He got out of his seat and went to where the other man stared at the motor.

“Look at you, gorgeous,“ he muttered with a raspy voice towards the engine.

And Robert felt himself puffing his chest like an idiot, because that guy had just made a compliment to his baby. When the mechanic bent over his car, he secretly ogled the arse and yep! There was an arse. 

One of those delicious apple butts, firm and muscular. Perfect to grab and squeeze, perfect to get spanked, perfect to dig your heels in to spur someone on to get  _ faster, harder- _

“Hey, can you hand me gloves from my toolbox?“

Robert blinked, looked down. “Yeah sure.“

They were lying right at the top and Robert pulled out two of the blue disposable gloves and handed them over. He watched with a hot fascination how the mechanic pulled them on.

Then the blue eyes locked on his own.

“I like being prepped, you know.“ The voice is deep and hoarse.

A little wink and grin and the guy bent over again. Robert was absolutely and truly gone.

  
  
  


“You‘re a Dingle?!” Robert shrieked as if that fact offended him personally. 

Aaron snorted and sipped from his water bottle. They were sitting on the front hood of the Porsche in the shadows of the trees.

“Not sure why you sound so surprised.“

“Please, Aaron! The Dingles are weird! They have greasy hair and spread out the odour of a pig-sty!“

“Oi! Watch it!“ Aaron laughed, “that‘s my family.“

Robert still couldn’t believe it. Aaron was gorgeous. Maybe they had swapped him after birth. 

“So,“ Aaron said, putting his bottle on the ground and patted off invisible dust from his hands, “who are you then? Since you know my family so well, but I don‘t know you?!“

“Robert Sugden,“ he introduced himself, not without a little cocky undertone to it.

He even straightened his shoulders. Aaron bit his lip and shook his head grinning. Robert offered him a hand and he took it with a firm grip.

Their eyes locked again and Robert couldn‘t help but stare. Aaron held his intense look.

  
  
  
  


In hindsight, Robert wished he could tell a cheesy story of how they became best friends afterwards, how they became inseparable, how they shared their innermost thoughts until they slowly discovered romantic feelings, preciously blooming and growing bigger with every passing day.

Yeah.

In reality, Aaron Dingle fucked him in his uncle's garage on the same evening in between the tires and the tool cupboard. 

They had to bring the Porsche here for a thorough check up. When they arrived, Cain was gone, probably already finished for a pint in the pub.

Robert looked around, took in the small and messy garage and then his gaze landed on Aaron, making him hot and giddy and  _ hot.  _

“You can leave now,“ Aaron informed him with a smile, awkwardly waving with the clipboard to signal that he would finish the car without him.

“Yeah, but first I wanna know one thing,” Robert smirked.

He leaned forward and took Aaron’s lips. Sucked them into his mouth, nipped at them gently, slipped his tongue between them. 

Aaron took over quickly, had him bending over in record time, desperate for Aaron’s lips, fingers, cock. He was leaning on the hood of Bob‘s car as he wheezed in the typical stinging smell of rubber and oil. 

“Fuck, Aaron!“

Aaron pounded into him relentlessly, hitting Robert’s spot with every thrust. He was a drooling mess, managed only to string vowels together. His moans melted with Aaron’s harsh grunts and the sounds of skin slapping on skin. 

As soon as this big, big hand wrapped around his cock and pulled in a frantic rhythm, Robert was done. He came with a shout and his body spasmed helplessly.

Aaron followed only seconds later, but Robert was too busy with floating 5 feet above the ground to actually notice it. 

No, Aaron and him were never ‘best friends‘, 

They were more right from the start.

———

Robert loves waking up to Aaron. He’ll never get tired of waking up next to him.

“Your puns are horrible,” Aaron groans sleepily, sprawled out over him, like a human blanket.

“You love them,” Robert objects with a knowing smirk.

“Hmmm. Don’t know why though,” his boyfriend grumbles and nuzzles his nose closer to Robert’s neck where the skin is still sensitive from last night.

The scruff tickles in the best imaginable way and he chuckles and squirms on the sheets.

He looks down to Aaron’s body in his arms and hugs him tighter. It’s one of those moments where every little thing falls into piece, where the universe just  _ clicks, _ and Robert feels absolutely content. A moment of pure perfection. 

Aaron’s hands start wandering around, exploring Robert’s body just like he did hundreds of times before. Robert closes his eyes and concentrates on the palms on his skin, warm and calloused from the work in the garage. But Aaron’s touch is soft, featherlight, as if Robert was something fragile. 

His boyfriend moves his head and presses a gentle kiss right above Robert’s heart. It does a painful stutter in his chest, even Aaron must have felt it through the ribcage, because he’s smiling now. Robert feels it on his skin, his senses are alert now, heightened. His body flushes hot.

Aaron’s hands reach his cock and he makes an approving hum. 

“Someone’s wide awake…”

Robert can hear that shiteating grin.

“Told you, I love waking up next to you.”

———

He’ll never forget the first time they spent the night together.

After Andy‘s wedding, Robert decided to stay in the Dales. He got a job offer that was too good to decline. His boss was a smarmy old git, but the money was more than fair for assessable and regular hours of work. 

They were in the pub, together with Vic and Adam when he told them the news, his eyes fixed on his favourite scruffy grease monkey.

When Aaron smiled at him he smiled back and thought deep down that he would have probably taken Lawrence‘s offer for less money too. 

Later he kissed Aaron until they were both gasping for air, then he booked them a night away in a poncy hotel to celebrate. 

They cuddled, both still sweaty and sticky, Aaron was the little spoon and he grabbed Robert‘s hand, intertwined their fingers above his heart. Robert felt it thumping, steady and strong, matching his own. He kissed Aaron‘s neck and trailed his lips across the soft skin. The dark curls tickled his face and made him grin. And that‘s how he fell asleep, with Aaron‘s scent in his nose and the heart under his hand. 

On the next morning, Aaron was sitting on the edge of the bed, wearing the most ridiculously comfy looking bathing gown ever and reading something on his phone.

“Mmmng,“ Robert mumbled, while his brain still tried to boot up. 

“Hiya,“ Aaron smiled and sipped from a cup. 

His hair was soft and his face looked so young and relaxed and Robert was swooning.

“I made one for you too,“ Aaron nodded towards the nightstand where indeed a mug stood with still steaming black coffee. “It‘s not a real Americano though, they only have that instant stuff you hate here in the room, I‘m sorry.“

“You know how I like my coffee?“ Robert muttered and something tugged on his chest. The whole scenery was so utterly domestic as if they would be together for years already, not just for a few weeks. 

“Yeah I know, I mean, ‘I like my coffee like my men: dark and strong’ was really such a bad line, of course I remember that,“ Aaron said jokingly and he looked back down on his phone.

“What are you reading?“ Robert pointed towards the Samsung device. 

“Just Cain again,“ Aaron sighed, “gonna have to work on Saturday as well.“

The blue eyes were sad now and Robert decided that needed changing ASAP. He pulled the covers off and got on his knees, his face just a few inches from Aaron‘s away. The blue eyes were so big and open. 

“Well, I didn‘t get us a late check out, so we can talk about work,“ Robert grinned and leaned in for a good morning kiss.

Two orgasms (for both of them) later they checked out and Robert joked about the poor cleaning staff that was about to find all their used condoms in the bathroom bin. Aaron blushed furiously and Robert cackled until his belly hurt.

———

It is the sweetest torture, it has Robert fisting the sheets and arching his back helplessly. He doesn’t know whether to leave his eyes open or close them because of the sensory overload. 

Aaron loves to torture him, because he is cruel, so damn cruel.

“Shut up, I’m in charge,” his boyfriend pants out. 

He rolls his hips in an agonising slow rhythm, is clenching around Robert’s cock, milking precome out of him, but it’s not enough to cum. He is on edge for so long now, he can’t even think straight anymore. 

“Fuck! Aaron…,” Robert sobs desperately. 

Anything, please. 

Aaron’s skin is covered in a thin layer of sweat, glistening in the morning light, his jaw is slack, mouth slightly parted. His body is arching back, his hands are resting on Robert’s thighs right above his knees. He lets out little moans whenever the cock brushes against his prostate, his own dick is red and rock hard, bouncing and twitching with every movement. Robert sees a little bead of precome running down the shaft. He isn’t allowed to touch though, Aaron batted his hand away when he went for it. 

Aaron can come hands free - they discovered that pretty early in their relationship - and he is determined to make this happen now. God dammit, those fucking stubborn Dingles, Robert curses them all in his head. He needs to come so bad now, but Aaron just keeps his speed as he rides him with controlled circles. Suddenly he goes rigid.

“Rob!”

And then he’s sitting up straight and starts slamming his body down on Robert’s with everything he has. Robert knows that means he’s close.

“Yes, Aaron, c’mon.”

Aaron’s hips jerk and he’s shooting his cum from his untouched cock in thick ropes across Robert’s stomach. He’s clenching down hard and Robert lets out a shout and his eyes roll back and then he’s coming and coming and coming.

It feels endless. Boneless.

Somewhere, somehow he gets cleaned up and wrapped underneath a blanket.

Aaron snuggles up to him, kisses his shoulder.

“You’re killing me,” he informs Aaron and his words are slurred because his lips feel numb and tingly.

He licks them a few times to make the feeling go away.

“Best way to go,” Aaron replies unimpressed.

“Why do you Dingles have to be so damn stubborn,” Robert groans in fake-annoyance. 

Aaron snickers, then he’s sobering up. “Oh-oh!” he says.

He sounds alert. And that’s not good. Because they were talking about Dingles, and Dingles in combination with an  _ oh-oh, _ can never be good. “What is it?” Robert asks wearily.

He knows already that he’s not going to like what’s about to come.

“Yeah, well… remember when Zak told us about the old fence around the pig corral?” 

Robert closes his eyes.

“Errr, I kinda promised him, we would help him to renew it?”

He doesn’t know why Aaron makes it sound like a question.

“Like… today?”

He groans and rubs his face.

Bringing up the Dingles not even five minutes after he flew to the moon was such a downer, really.

———

He’s so far managed successfully to avoid the Dingles. Surely not all of them - because heck, they were bloody everywhere?! - but most of them.

Robert had a few awkward small talks with Chas. In one of them he wasn’t quite sure if she tried to tell him in a roundabout way that him and Aaron should always stay safe and yeah, that was… awkward. He was not, definitely not, discussing his sex life with Chas Dingle. 15 minutes of his life he won’t get back.

He saw Cain a few times in the pub, but they just nodded at each other - no, well, scratch that, Robert nodded and Cain glared back. 

“He’s giving me the eyebrows again,” he whispered to Aaron, “he hates me.”

Aaron huffed a laugh and slapped with the back of his hand Robert’s stomach. “Don’t be ridiculous, he loves you,” he snorted and turned to Diane to order two pints.

Robert looked over to Cain again and he saw him pointing from his eyes towards Robert. The ‘I watch you’ gesture. Great. Just fucking great. And not at all creepy, Don Corleone. 

The point was, the Dingles were weird. And there were so many of them.

  
  
  


As long as it was just him and Aaron, it was okay. Robert did everything he could that it stayed that way as long as possible, but then the day came when Aaron was missing.

“Where is he!” Chas screamed at him, when he wanted to head over to the Woolie for his tea.

“What? Who?” Robert frowned.

“Aaron!”

“He wrote this morning that he was going for a run, before he wanted to go to work…” Robert said slowly.

“He never showed up there!” Chas shouted in frustration. “He won’t answer his phone. No one has seen him today!” 

She was running around and yelling at him, as if it was somehow his fault! While she went on full mum-panic-mode, he had to fight his own fears. That wasn’t like Aaron. He would never skive off work just like that, without calling in sick. 

He tried to calm down a frantic Chas Dingle while her small fists slammed down in his chest, but Robert barely felt it. At some point she just gave up, slumped against his chest and hugged him.

“Something’s happened, I know it, Robert!”

“We’ll search for him,” Robert said through gritted teeth, “last thing we know is that he went running. We’ll start looking in the woods.”

He drove and Chas was on the passenger's seat, biting her nails off. Robert tried to calm himself down, tried to tell himself that she was overreacting. Classic Dingle stunt, everything had to be extra dramatic. Aaron was only missing for ten hours, that was basically nothing. Aaron was a grown up man.

Fuck, Aaron was missing for ten hours. He hadn’t shown up at work, he hadn’t contacted Robert or his mother. 

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

He had been running with Aaron a few times and he knew his favourite routes - at least Robert hoped he did. He parked his car and they got out.

“Aaron!”

“Aaron!”

Their shouts echoed through the woods. The longer they stumbled through the forest, the more desperate they got. Robert strained his ears, tried to hear as good as he could any signs of his boyfriend, when he actually-

“Aa-Rooon!”

“Shhhhh!” he angrily snapped at Chas. “I heard something!”

They stood there, Robert closed his eyes and concentrated. He didn’t even dare to breathe. There it was again. A groan. His eyes snapped open and ran towards the voice.

He could only hope he was right, that his hearing didn’t betray him.

“Aaron, we’re coming!” he shouted.

Another groan. Closer.

When Robert reached a canyon, he saw a body down at the ground. Black trackies, black shirt, dark hair. Aaron! 

“Call an ambulance!” he said over his shoulder to Chas.

Then he stumbled the sharp decline down without even watching his own steps, managed it somehow to get down without falling himself.

Aaron was pale, his eyes were closed, his lips were blue. It was spring and only God knew how long he had been lying here like this on the wet leaves. His body was shaking. Robert quickly pulled off his jacket and put it carefully over his boyfriend.

“It’s gonna be okay, trust me,” Robert muttered.

Aaron mumbled something that sounded like ‘don’t go’, but he was barely conscious and Robert wasn’t quite sure. 

“I’m not going anywhere,” he said and gently stroked Aaron’s hair, to let him know he was there.

When he looked up, Chas was next to him, staring at him bewilderedly. “You do care about him!” she whispered as if that was some kind of news.

He frowned. “Course I do.”

Then he leaned back down to soothe and warm his boyfriend while they were waiting for the ambulance to arrive.

  
  
  


“He’s going to need water!” Robert barked at the paramedics, not caring in the slightest that they were the professionals here.

“They know what they’re doing, Rob,” Chas said behind him.

Usually Robert hated being called that - right now he couldn’t bring himself to care about it. Because they strapped Aaron on a stretcher and carried him towards their ambulance.

“Aaron! I’ll come and see you as soon as I can, yeah?” was the last thing he shouted, before the doors of the car closed.

They were heading to the hospital as fast as they could, Robert broke the speed limit a few times, but luckily nobody stopped them. 

It turned out, Aaron had broken his leg and had a concussion from the fall down the canyon. The doctors told him to stay in hospital for three days and Robert didn’t leave his bedside. 

Zak and Lisa came with Sam and Lydia, Charity and even Cain, a few minutes later followed Marlon and Chas. Somehow the whole clan was cramped in the small room. 

They started grilling Aaron about what had happened and he told them about how he tripped over a root and then lost balance. He told them about the hours on the cold ground when he couldn’t move properly because of his head.

“I could have closed my eyes and given up - but I didn’t, because of him,” Aaron took Robert’s hand and squeezed it with a dopey grin.

His mum squealed and someone made a gagging noise - probably Cain - and Robert felt his cheeks heating up, because all eyes were suddenly on him. 

Then, after a little moment of silence, Zak stepped to him. “C’mere son,” he said emotionally and pulled a stunned Robert in for a tight hug. And well, that was… weird. Robert wasn’t quite sure if he should hug back or what to do with his hands at all, so he went for a slight pat on Dingle’s shoulder. 

When Zak released him, Robert cleared his throat and straightened his shirt. Aaron snickered and he shot him a pouty glare.

“You’re enjoying this!” Robert hissed to him through gritted teeth.

“You kidding? I LOVE this!” Aaron whispered back.

Aaron pulled him in for a kiss. With tongue and all. In front of the whole family. Robert blamed it on the drugs that were constantly pumped in Aaron’s system. But well, since his boyfriend was injured and all, Robert just went with it and kissed back. 

———

The Dingles like him ever since. Meaning, they invite him to family parties, Zak squeezes his cheek and calls him ‘son’, Sam talks to him about his chickens and Cain still glares at him like he was Charles Manson. 

Robert can’t call the fence thing off, he just can’t. Even he knows it wouldn’t be right. Ugh, he groans in frustration.

The pig fence. The fucking pig fence!

Of all things  _ that _ has to ruin his big plans for today. It’s almost funny, if it wasn’t so bizarre. 

Robert has planned this Saturday for weeks now. While Aaron is in the shower, he leans over to the bedside table and opens the top drawer. 

Robert opens the small black box. Two silver bands are there, safely tucked in between layers of velvet. 

This should have been the day. The day of boyfriends becoming fiancés. Robert wants to go down on one knee and ask Aaron the question of all questions, he pictured that moment over and over in his head, practicing his speech. It is going to be perfect.

Unfortunately not today. 

Because, pig fence. Pig smell. Ugh, Robert hates pigs. Why couldn’t the Dingles have a puppy farm? That would be so much cooler, really. 

He snaps the ring box shut with a groan. Tomorrow then, he tells himself, tomorrow.

———

Robert’s head felt like it was coated in cotton wool, everything was dull, sounds muffled. His body was heavy, it weighed a bloody ton and he couldn’t move his limbs. Damn, he couldn’t even open his eyes. 

He felt something soft underneath, definitely a bed, and there was a voice too. It was babbling something nonstop. For a moment, Robert didn’t know if he was awake or dreaming, but then he recognised the raspy sound he loved so so much.

Aaron!

Robert really tried to open his eyes now, but his eyelids were extremely heavy. It took all his willpower to blink a few times. Everything was a blur, but he saw Aaron sitting on his bedside, before they fell shut again.

“I went over and over again what I would have said to you, given I had the chance,” he heard Aaron saying. 

A foggy memory of their row flashed up in Robert’s brain. He couldn’t remember any details, only that there had been some nasty words. Aaron’s hands took his, Robert felt the thumb softly stroking over his skin. “And I’m so sorry, Rob. I was such an idiot. I didn’t mean what I said. If you would wake up, I could explain-” the hoarse voice cracked and Robert heard a sniff.

Aaron was crying. 

It broke Robert’s heart. No matter if they had been fighting or not, his boyfriend should never cry because of him. Somehow this mobilised the last bit of strength that was left in his body and he squeezed Aaron’s hand. Basically he only twitched his fingers a bit, but it felt like it.

“Robert?” The rasping sound was hopeful now. “Can you do that again?”

He moved his fingers again and in the next second, Aaron’s warm hand was gone, leaving him cold and Robert heard fabric rustling and footsteps. A door opened. 

“I need a nurse here! And a doctor!” Aaron shouted, “He’s waking up!” Then there was a short silence before Aaron whispered. “He’s waking up.”

  
  
  


Dammit, who had thought that getting shot sucked so much? Apparently Robert had been in a coma for several weeks, while his body and especially his lungs tried to recover from the bullet that had hit him above his heart. The doctors said he was lucky and Robert really tried not to think too much about how close he had been to death. 

One look at his boyfriend and he knew how close it had been. Aaron looked awful, he had lost weight, his beard had grown out of control and he had dark rings under his eyes. 

“You should go home, have some proper rest,” he said quietly.

“Yeah. Fat chance,” Aaron muttered and snuggled close to him.

Somehow the stubborn Dingle had managed it to squeeze himself next to Robert on the small hospital bed. 

“I can rest here,” Aaron insisted and paused, “if that’s okay?”

Robert smiled into the fluffly curls. His boyfriend was a sap sometimes, a big cuddle bear on the couch and an octopus in bed, whereas Robert was more of a starfish type. Turned out, these types matched amazingly when it came to sleeping. 

Right when he was about to doze off, the door opened and Cain and Charity slipped in. It was a bit of a surprise if he was honest that the first visitors after he had woken up were not his siblings, but the Dingles. And not just any Dingles, the  _ scary _ Dingles. The batshit crazy ones. 

“The business has been taken care of,” Charity said simply. 

Robert thought for a moment they were talking about actual business, but Aaron tensed up next to him. “Good,” he bit out and stayed stressed. 

“What business?” Robert asked.

The two older Dingles stood next to the door, not moving, just watching them with their own faces half hidden in the dim light of the room. They didn’t say a word.

“Cain found out who shot you,” Aaron told him reluctantly. 

Robert’s heartbeat sped up and his hurt chest clenched painfully. He let out a small groan and pressed his eyes shut. He couldn’t remember much after the fight. He had left the house, he had been walking around the village and then… he woke up to Aaron rambling. 

“Who?” he managed to get out. His lungs hurt where the bullet had cut through his muscles, ribs and the organ. 

“Ross Barton,” Aaron sighed and his blue eyes looked at him with sadness, “he was planning a new stunt and you were at the wrong place at the wrong time. You must have seen something and he panicked.”

Robert tried to remember anything, but there was just darkness. He shook his head slightly. 

“What does that mean: taken care of?” he wanted to know.

“He left the village, Cain made sure of it,” Aaron said coldly. 

Robert had never seen him like that. He couldn’t even begin to wrap his head around how hard these past week must have been for Aaron. 

Robert looked over to Cain, who gave him his trademark glare back. 

Then the Dingle nodded once and Robert nodded back, stunned about whatever just had happened in this room. 

———

Zak slaps his shoulder and Robert manages to only let out a  _ quiet _ hiss. God dammit, he isn’t a bloody horse! 

“Hello lad,” the Dingle senior says cheerfully.

“Hi Zak,” he says obediently. 

Sam smiles at him and waves. Robert actually likes him, the lad is honest and loyal and quite funny. The fact that he once thought Sam was just some sort of village idiot, makes him hang his head in shame now.

“So, where’s the fence?” Aaron asks, already rolling up his sleeves.

Robert loves that his boyfriend is good with his hands, it’s so hot. Those hands are so skilled and manage the perfect balance between a rough grip and a gentle caress. They are strong and sensitive and Robert loves having them on him, in him, everywhere. It’s probably because of that glove episode right when they met for the first time. Aaron ruined him right from the start, that beautiful bastard. 

“Stop staring,” Aaron smirks at him and nudges his shoulder against Robert.

He snaps out of it and clears his throat. “Yeah, where are we starting?” he asked Zak.

The old Dingle gives him a once over. 

“You are starting nowhere,” Zak decides, “at least not with those shoes!”

Robert frowns and looks down. He is wearing his black Nike trainers, the only shoes he owns that might be approximately suitable for the task at hand. At least he thought that. 

“Sam, get Robert’s wellies,” Zak shouts across the yard.

Sam smiles and springs to action.

Robert’s wellies? Robert doesn’t have wellies. He owned a pair of wellies once… like when he was five.

“I have shoes here?” he asks dumbly.

Aaron and Zak are giving him the  _ exact _ same look in response. The Dingle look for “don’t be an idiot”. Sam brings over what are apparently his wellies. How the heck was he supposed to know that they bought wellies for him?! 

Zak explains that they have a stash in the garage where everybody has their own pair. 

“There are two things we don’t share, lad: women and wellies,” Zak jokes and nudges his shoulders. 

Robert still feels too confused to be offended about how this pun simply ignored the existence of same sex relationships. He reckoned the gag was from a time when the Dingles didn’t even know that homesexuals or bisexuals existed. 

Sam brings over three pairs. They are marked with the letters, Robert’s says RD. He puts them on, frowning. Then he’s glancing to the side, where Aaron slips into his wellies, that have AD on the side. Sam’s got SD. 

Oh my god. Robert moves his feet in the rubber boots, which feels weird and alien. He swallows hard. They are trying to Dingle him.

———

Robert made decisions in his life he wasn’t proud of afterwards. Like not aiming for a university degree. Or like getting a buzzcut at the age of 20. Or sleeping with his fiancés sister - that had been a really bad decision! Or accusing the weirdo son of his ex-fiancé of being a cold hearted kidnapper. 

That undoubtedly had been his worst decision ever, because it brought him in this horrible situation, he was currently in. Tied to a chair with a throbbing head, because the son of his ex-fiancé had officially gone insane and hit him with the handle of a gun. 

Said gun was pointed at his face and despite his efforts not to panic, Robert panicked. He thought of Aaron, of course he did. His lovely, cute, grumpy boyfriend, who was most likely at home right now, waiting for Robert to arrive from work. Aaron would probably have ordered food for them and set everything up for a Netflix night. 

He wanted to be on that couch with Aaron so badly. Just hold him and kiss him and breathe him in and never let go. It couldn’t end like this, it couldn’t. He was supposed to get old with Aaron, at least until they were 80 or something, that was his future. Boring bingo nights in the retirement home. Robert wanted boring bingo nights when it meant that he could spend them with Aaron. Boring bingo nights with Aaron sounded bloody  _ ace. _

Belle whimpered next to him. “Please, he needs an ambulance,” she cried.

Her hands were wrapped around a bloody cloth and shaking. Sam was unconscious on the sofa at Wishing Well, the wound on his head looked pretty nasty. It was still bleeding. 

Lachlan had hit him pretty bad, right before he knocked out Robert as well. 

“Would you just stop crying,” Lachlan said to her, still holding the gun up in Robert’s direction.

Belle let out a desperate sob.

“Shut up!” Lachlan snapped and his body jerked, causing the gun to point at her. She gasped in shock.

Lachlan lowered the weapon and started pacing. “I’m not gonna hurt you, why don’t you get that?” he whined. He had lost it, he totally lost it now.

“Maybe because you’re waving a gun in her face,” Robert muttered. He just couldn’t stop himself. Put that on the list of bad decisions.

Lachlan hit him again, right above his left eye. The pain was so sharp Robert thought his head was going to break in two. His vision blackened and he felt like throwing up. He was convinced he would lose consciousness like Sam, but then his mind slowly, very slowly came back to surface. 

Lachlan was sitting next to Belle now, whispering something, but Robert‘s bruised head couldn‘t quite make sense of what he was saying. What he understood though, was the fact that the psycho had put his gun on the floor. 

This was his chance, maybe the only one he got to make it home to his boyfriend. 

Robert carefully started to wriggle his hands, to test how tight the rope around his wrists was. He circled his hands. That wasn‘t too bad. Lachlan had never been a boy scout. Bless Chrissie‘s disinterest in nature - she would have never encouraged him to go camping or stuff like that - a fact that came in handy now, because Robert felt the knot loosen, bit by bit.

It didn‘t fall off completely, but the rope gave him enough space to slide his left hand through. Robert tried to pretend that he was still dizzy from the blow on his forehead, but his inside was a buzzing mix of excitement and fear. 

He just needed to get his right hand free as well and then he had a chance to see Aaron again. Robert made a silent promise to himself: if he‘d make it home in one piece, he would ask Aaron to marry him. 

Robert was sooo going to marry him. He had to. It was his fate. His fate was not dying here in the living room of Lisa and Zak Dingle by the hands of his ex-stepson. The second hand came free. 

He didn‘t act on impulse, he tried to gather his strength first, tried to plan this like a game of chess in his head. He pictured every move, every possible reaction from Lachlan. Robert inhaled deeply. 

Aaron. He needed to go home to Aaron, he thought and lunged towards the gun, but he was missing his aim for just a few inches. Suddenly Lachlan was above him, fists hit Robert’s ribs and he gasped desperately for air as he tried to crawl to the gun. He got pulled back, the weapon out of reach now, so Robert rolled around, facing the psycho and he started to hit back. Lachlan’s face was fiercely red and twisted in rage. 

Normally it would be a fight on the same eye level. Robert was older and a bit bigger than Lachlan, but the young White had built up muscles in the past and was more experienced in martial arts. Plus, he was insane. Insane people were able to develop a whole new level of determination where they barely felt pain. Robert though, he felt his pain. His whole body and his head were in agony, throbbing in countless places and he felt his strength slowly fading.

“Stop it!” A loud shriek startled them both.

Belle stood above them, pointing the gun at Lachlan. She was crying and her body shook like a leaf. Both men stopped. Robert because he was too stunned to see Belle Dingle with a weapon and Lachlan probably because he looked right into the barrel.

“Belle, put it down,” he panted through gritted teeth.

He let go of Robert and stood up slowly, raising his hands towards Belle. She shook her head, her body trembled. Robert was pretty sure she didn’t even hold the gun correctly. Lachlan suddenly snapped and tried to snitch it out of her hands. 

The deafening noise of a shot boomed through the cottage and Belle screamed.

Robert’s stomach did a flip, his heart stopped for the longest of seconds ever.

The bullet had hit the ceiling.

Lachlan pushed his Belle back and Robert knew that under all circumstances he must not get his hand back on the gun. If Lachlan had the gun, they were as good as dead. 

Aaron. He needed to go home to Aaron.

Robert pushed himself up from the floor, grabbed blindly the next best item from the coffee table. It was a flower vase. It’s ugly anyway, was the last irrational thought that crossed his mind before he swung his arm and hit the back of Lachlan’s head with every little bit of power he had left. 

Their tormentor slumped down on the carpet and lay there motionless. Robert stood on shaky legs, swaying, panting, and his mind was blank. He didn’t know what to think, what to do. Adrenaline rushed through him when the shock settled in. 

“Is he dead?” He sounded wrecked.

Belle went on her knees and checked for Lachlan’s pulse, her fingertips left a bloody mark on his neck. Sam’s blood, Robert thought. His guts were turning. 

Did this really happen?

“There’s a pulse,” she whispered.

Only then Robert felt everything draining from him. He slowly slid down, not caring about the broken pieces from the vase, when he dropped down next to Lachlan. He was so goddamn tired. His body hurt. Hurt everywhere. Blood rushed loud in his ears, his vision started swimming. 

Aaron. He needed to go home to Aaron.

Somewhere far away he heard a door opening and then voices. 

Aaron. He needed to go home to Aaron. 

There was a face above him. Robert tried to focus. It wasn’t Aaron, it was Zak.

“You saved our Belle, you saved our Sam!” the old man kept shouting on repeat.

And then he was wrapped up in a proper Dingle hug. His bruised body protested and he hissed in pain, but Zak clearly didn’t care. When he finally let go, Robert slumped back against the floor with a pained noise. Exhaustion made his bones feel like they weighed a ton. He just needed to close his eyes for a bit.

Aaron. He needed to go home to Aaron. 

He tried to blink them open again and groaned. Cain appeared in his vision, giving him the typical glare. 

“Don’t you dare and die now, Sugden,” he growled.

Then he grabbed Robert’s shoulder and gave a little squeeze. That was probably the most loving gesture Cain Dingle ever showed towards another human being he didn’t sleep with. Robert just stared at him. 

“Kay,” he croaked out.

And so Robert stayed alive.

———

Another decision Robert deeply regrets, is not just simply having made up a stupid excuse to spend his Saturday at home, decorating everything for the proposal he planned for weeks now. 

He wants to pull the full stunt: a romantic dinner first, maybe even include candles (although that would make Aaron suspicious) and then he would gently lead Aaron outside into their backyard, where there would be a chain of lights in the tree, soaking the garden into a warm atmosphere. Their lounge would be underneath, where Robert hid the little box before. A bottle of bubbly would be ready for them to drink. He would go on his knee, look up in his favourite face, would tell Aaron how much he loved him, how much he meant to Robert, how much he needed him in his life, how he can’t be without him ever. 

No, instead he is here, standing ankle-deep in pig shit and trying to fix the stupid Dingle fence. How is this his bloody life? 

“Rob! Watch it!” Aaron shouts at him.

Robert looks around, confused. A pig runs against his shinbone and then through his legs with a shriek. Robert is spinning around to watch it bunking off, the little pig tail waggles happily. 

“Spamela!” Sam calls after the swine.

Somehow they all end up hunting the goddamn pig across the yard, with yells and shouts, and Robert can’t help but think if this is just another random day at the Dingle farm. The madness has a name. 

With an heroic lunge, Robert jumps on Spamela and buries the little bolter underneath him. 

“Got her!” he pants out.

The wetness of the mud seeps through his jeans and only now Robert realises that he’s lying in pig muck. The stinging smell makes his eyes water. Oh my god, he’s going to shower for  _ days _ after that! 

“Aw, awesome Robert!” Sam beamed at him and gently took the wriggling animal away from Robert to put her back into the enclosure. 

Robert slowly sits up and looks down. There is filth everywhere, it’s disgusting. He feels sick, his stomach starts clenching and he is  _ this _ close of retching. Aaron crouches down next to him, smiling at him bright and carefree as if they are enjoying a good time. He looks so good with his soft curls and his incredible eyes, so pure and wonderful, while Robert feels like what he is covered in: shit.

“God, that’s why I love you so much,” Aaron grins at him.

“Why? Because I’m a filthy little shit?” Robert jokes weakly. 

He really needs that shower. Maybe he can do it right here and borrow fresh clothes from Sam. No way he would drive like this with his poor baby.

“Because you’re amazing,” his boyfriend says with an audible pride in his scratchy voice. “You might not see it, but I do. You’d do anything for the people you love, without thinking about yourself.”

The look Robert gets is so intense and full of affection, it’s too much, especially in combination with the unexpected praise that Robert doesn’t know how to handle. He squirms in the mud. He lowers his eyes, feeling shy suddenly. 

“Marry me.”

His eyes shoot up again. Oh no! Oh no, no, no, no, no! No way!

“Don’t you dare!” he growls angrily. 

Is Aaron Dingle fucking kidding him? His boyfriend’s bright smile falters, he clearly expected a different answer.

“What?”

“I’ve been planning this for  _ weeks!  _ Weeks, Dingle! I bought rings, I bought a chain of lights, I bought food,  _ I planned this!” _ Robert gets up, fuming. “Don’t you dare just ask me like that while I am covered in Spamela’s shit!”

He points towards Aaron. There is a long moment of silence, Robert’s chest is heaving. 

Then Aaron breaks out into a booming laughter. He is laughing so loud and hard that he has to bend over and holds his belly. 

Robert is crossing his arms. He tries to pout, because honestly how damn rude is this, but in the end he has to suppress a snicker himself. 

“Well, Robert Jacob Sugden,” Aaron says when he calmed down a bit and his blue eyes are sparkling, “I don’t need a chain of lights or fancy food. I’m always saying yes, even if you’re a mucky idiot.”

———

When Robert suffered a seizure, it shocked them to the core. They hadn’t seen it coming, Robert was young, healthy, there was no obvious reason for him having a fit. Aaron didn’t leave his side in hospital, they both hated the place with a passion, they definitely had enough of spending time here.

They ran tests after tests and Robert didn’t have time to be worried about himself, because his fiancé concerned him more. Aaron was a bundle of nerves, jumpy and moody towards the staff, clinging to Robert and biting his nails. 

He got it. He would be the same if the roles were reversed. 

In the end they told him it’s a not fully cured cold in combination with stress at work. The doctor ordered bed rest for one week and Robert felt like a ten year old again. Aaron hugged him tight and sighed in relief.

“Don’t ever scare me like that again,” he muttered against Robert’s neck. His breath and his scruff was tickling him. “Or I’ll kill you myself.”   
  


He was on the couch and Aaron wrapped around him like an octopus. Cain gave him the week off and Robert intended to take full advantage of that fact. He started kissing Aaron’s temple and his hands were stroking over the broad back, gently massaging the muscles.

“No funny business,” Aaron informed him shortly.

Robert hummed innocently and wandered down to the apple arse, giving a good squeeze.

“The doc said ‘bed rest’,” Aaron said, turned his head, rested his chin on Robert’s chest and looked him severely in the eye. 

“Well, we’re on the sofa, so technically we’re breaking the rules already…” he murmured and leaned in to kiss-

The door opened and someone squealed.

Or something. Like... a pig.

Spamela naturally walked into their living room as if she would live here with them forever. Robert gaped. There was a swine in his living room!

Sam and Lydia were slipping in. “We had an appointment at Paddy’s and thought we’d check on ya!”

Robert was too stunned to answer, but Aaron smiled at their guests. “Thank you, guys.”

Somehow - Robert was still too busy to get his head around the pig that was in _ his damn living room -  _ Lydia ended up cooking them lunch while Sam mowed their backyard. 

“Hey, Spamela would be a cool pet, don’t you think?” Aaron pulled him out of the series they were watching. 

Robert glanced at the pig that was currently nibbling at his trainers.

“If she stays, she goes into a sandwich,” he says and he’s not joking.

Chas arrived with some errands from David’s shop, while Lydia brought chicken soup to the couch. They ended up eating all together, Lydia had made way too much anyway.

———

It’s supposed to be the happiest day of Robert’s life - he is going to marry the man of his dreams, as corny as it sounds it is the truth - and he is happy,  _ was _ happy until...

“I can’t wait to watch you drinking from the wellie,” Aaron grins at him with a wicked wink.

There is this sound of screeching tires in his head, when everything in Robert freezes. Drinking? Wellie? What? 

“See you at the altar.” His husband gives him one last peck on the cheek and then he is leaving the room, because they want to put on their suits separately. 

Robert stands there dumbstruck. What wellie?! Why would anybody drink from a wellie?

A few moments later Sam pokes his head in.

“You ready, mate?” he asks.

“What is this wellie thing?” he blurts out. “Aaron mentioned a wellie.”

Sam comes in and closes the door behind him. “It’s a family tradition, when someone marries a Dingle. You’re becoming one of us,” he smiles and clasps Robert’s shoulder. 

Whoah. Whoah, wait. 

Robert is not becoming a Dingle. He is a Sugden. Always was. Besides, Robert Dingle has no ring to it, right? And also, why would anybody drink from a wellie?! This is so not going to happen. No way. 

Robert swallows and forms a plan in his head. 

  
  
  


They have a wonderful ceremony. It’s dead romantic, with music and speeches, just like Robert always imagined it. 

“All that I am, I give to you. And all that I have, I share with you.”

It’s the perfect wedding with the most perfect husband ever. He can’t believe that Aaron is his husband now. He wipes away happy tears underneath these wonderful blue eyes and they kiss. His family claps and the Dingles are cheering and howling. 

The party starts, people are eating cake, the first ones start dancing. Out of the corner of his eyes he sees the Dingles approaching. Lisa and Zak, Sam and Lydia, Cain and Moira, Marlon, Charity, Chas and Paddy.

Zak looks tense.

So this is the moment. Robert swallows and moves around.

“Robert?” Aaron asks, “Why are you hiding behind me?” His husband glares at him. “What did you do?”

“Me? Nothing?” Robert puts his hand on his chest to emphasize how offended he is.

“Oh come on! You have your guilty face on.”

Robert looks over Aaron’s shoulders. The Dingles are close now, almost in earshot.

“I’veburntthewellie,” he rushes the words out.

He found it before the ceremony, standing in the corner. It was an actual wellie. Robert couldn’t believe it. It was one of those nasty green ones and he looked around if anybody was there. When he was sure he was alone, he sniffed carefully. He almost retched right then and there. Without further thinking he took the rubber boot and hurried into the back.

Aaron groans and slaps his forehead. “Why?”

“Why??” Robert hisses. “This is insane! I’m not becoming a Dingle!”

Aaron gives him the ‘you are such an idiot’-look again, then a voice behind him is speaking up.

“So, it seems like the Dingle wellie is gone,” Zak declares and he steps closer to Robert. “But we wouldn’t let ya down, lad.” Robert frowns. “Good thing them wellies come as a pair, right?” Zak laughs and Robert’s eyes widen.

Sam pulls the wellie from behind his back and gives him an excited smile. Aaron, his traitorous husband, barks out a laugh next to him. 

It’s… forlorn. Robert looks into their happy faces - dammit, even Cain is smiling, is that actually allowed? - and he can’t say no, can he. 

With shaky hands he grabs the wellie. He survived Lachlan, he’ll survive that as well, Robert tells himself. 

He just tries to hold his breath and downs it. 

The Dingle’s are shouting and cheering again, while Robert gags a few times. When he is sure that the contents of his stomach stay where they belong, he turns to Aaron. 

His husband gives him the softest smile the world has ever witnessed. 

“You’re such an idiot,” Aaron says hoarsely and kisses him sweetly. He pulls back after a moment and his breath is ghosting on Robert’s face when he whispers: “You already were a Dingle all the time.”

  
  


  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Idk either guys. I just had fun to write! 🤷🏼♀️  
> Hope it was ok.


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